Thermal conducting trench in a semiconductor structure and method for forming the same

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method of forming a trench filled with a thermally conducting material in a semiconductor substrate. In one embodiment, the method includes filling a portion of the trench with a thermally conducting material and patterning a contact to the thermally conducting material. The invention also relates to a semiconductor device. In one embodiment, the semiconductor device has a trench defining a cell region, wherein a portion of the trench includes a thermally conducting material, and a contact to the thermally conducting material. The invention further relates to a semiconductor device and a method of forming a semiconductor device with an interlayer dielectric that is a thermally conducting material.

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/791,054, filed Feb. 21, 2001, byapplicants, Chunlin Liang and Brian S. Doyle, entitled “A ThermalConducting Trench in a Semiconductor Structure and Method for Formingthe Same;” which is a divisional application of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/829,860, filed on Mar. 31, 1997, by applicants,Chunlin Liang and Brian S. Doyle, entitled “A Thermal Conducting Trenchin a Semiconductor Structure and Method for Forming the Same.”

BACKGROUND

[0002] 1. Field

[0003] The invention relates generally to the field of semiconductordevices and, more particularly, to dissipating heat generated by theoperation of such devices.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] One goal of complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS) invery large scale integration (VLSI) and ultra large scale integration(ULSI) is to increase chip density and operation speed. However, withincreased chip density and operation speed, CMOS power consumption isalso increased dramatically. It is expected that the power consumptionof a high performance microprocessor will increase from several wattscurrently to approximately several hundred watts in the near future. Theheat generated from this power consumption will raise chip temperaturedramatically and degrade circuit performance and reliability. Therefore,reducing chip operation temperature is of great importance for currentas well as future VLSI and ULSI technology.

[0006] To date, reduction of chip temperature is accomplished in twoways: 1) Lowering the power consumption, and 2) improving heatdissipation to the ambient environment. The first method is thepreferred approach. A lowering of the power consumption is usuallyaccomplished by scaling down the power supply voltage. The powerconsumption of integrated circuit chips has decreased from 5.0 voltsseveral years ago to today's approximately 1.5 volts. However, loweringof the power supply voltage may impact negatively on the performance ofthe device. Because of the non-scalability of the build-in voltage of asilicon junction, there is little room for further reduction of thepower supply voltage below 1.0 volts if traditional technology is used.Thus, for high performance VLSI and ULSI circuits, further lowering ofthe power supply voltage may not be the most effective approach.

[0007] As indicated previously, the second approach to the reduction ofchip temperature is through improved heat dissipation to the ambientenvironment. The heat dissipates mainly through the silicon substrateinto a metal heat sink inside the package and through a metalinterconnect system. This approach typically employs a heat sink/groundplan in physical contact with the silicon substrate. Some moderntechnologies, however, have eliminated the heat sink/ground plan inphysical contact with the silicon substrate. One example is flip-chiptechnology wherein the chip is inverted so that the interconnect systemlies on the underside of the chip rather than on the exposed topsurface. These technologies encapsulate the silicon chip inside apackage with epoxy material thus eliminating the contact between thesilicon substrate and a heat sink. Instead, the metal interconnectsystem becomes the dominant heat dissipation path.

[0008] Heat dissipation through the interconnect system may be improvedby increasing the total physical contact area to a heat source. A largeeffective physical contact area will reduce the thermal resistivityproportionally. In a typical chip design, the primary effective thermalcontact to the transistor is provided by the diffusion or source/draincontact. The total source and drain physical contact area is, however,limited to a small percentage of the total chip size because otherstructures, such as an active channel, isolation, metal interconnect,and separation space, consume a much larger area of a given chip. Thus,the current design of the thermal contact area to the transistor (i.e.,the area available to effectively dissipate heat generated by thetransistor) is insufficient to dissipate the heat generated by the powerconsumption anticipated for future CMOS technology.

SUMMARY

[0009] A method of forming a trench filled with a thermally conductingmaterial in a semiconductor substrate is disclosed. In one embodiment,the method includes filling a portion of the trench with a thermallyconducting material and patterning a contact to the thermally conductingmaterial. A semiconductor device is also disclosed. In one embodiment,the semiconductor device has a trench defining a cell region, wherein aportion of the trench includes a thermally conducting material, and acontact to the thermally conducting material. A semiconductor device anda method of forming a semiconductor device with an interlayer dielectricthat is a thermally conducting material is further disclosed.

[0010] Additional features and benefits of the invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description, figures, and claims set forthbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a semiconductorsubstrate showing a masking layer overlying the substrate and a trenchformed in the substrate for an embodiment of an integrated circuitstructure having a trench filled with a thermally conducting material inthe semiconductor substrate in accordance with the invention.

[0012]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integratedcircuit structure showing a dielectric material passivating thesidewalls of the trench and overlying the masking layer for anembodiment of an integrated circuit structure having a trench filledwith a thermally conducting material in the semiconductor substrate inaccordance with the invention.

[0013]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integratedcircuit structure showing a thermally conducting material overlying thepassivating dielectric layer and filled in the trench for an embodimentof an integrated circuit structure having a trench filled with athermally conducting material in the semiconductor substrate inaccordance with the invention.

[0014]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integratedcircuit structure showing the thermally conducting material filled inthe trench and removed from the surface of the substrate by using themasking layer as an etch stop for an embodiment of an integrated circuitstructure having a trench filled with a thermally conducting material inthe semiconductor substrate in accordance with the invention.

[0015]FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integratedcircuit structure showing the masking layer removed for an embodiment ofan integrated circuit structure having a trench filled with a thermallyconducting material in the semiconductor substrate in accordance withthe invention.

[0016]FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a portion of an integratedcircuit structure showing a transistor structure formed adjacent to thetrench and conductive interconnections to the transistor and the trenchfor an embodiment of an integrated circuit structure having a trenchfilled with a thermally conducting material in the semiconductorsubstrate in accordance with the invention.

[0017]FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing six transistor devices and thermally conductingdielectric material filled trench/trench isolation for an embodiment ofan integrated circuit structure having a trench filled with a thermallyconducting material in the semiconductor substrate in accordance withthe invention.

[0018]FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing power (e.g., V_(CC) and V_(SS)) bus metal lines alsoused as the thermal connection to the thermally conducting material inthe trench for an embodiment of an integrated circuit structure having atrench filled with a thermally conducting material in the semiconductorsubstrate in accordance with the invention.

[0019]FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing the regular electrical metal interconnections used asthermal connections to the thermally conducting material in the trenchfor an embodiment of an integrated circuit structure having a trenchfilled with a thermally conducting material in the semiconductorsubstrate in accordance with the invention.

[0020]FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing dielectric sidewall spacers formed between opposingmetal interconnect lines for an embodiment of the invention of anintegrated circuit structure having an interlayer thermally conductingdielectric material in accordance with the invention.

[0021]FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing a layer of thermally conducting dielectric materialdeposited over a first level metal interconnect system for an embodimentof the invention of an integrated circuit structure having an interlayerthermally conducting dielectric material in accordance with theinvention.

[0022]FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing a planarized thermally conducting dielectric materialbetween opposing metal interconnect lines for an embodiment of theinvention of an integrated circuit structure having an interlayerthermally conducting dielectric material in accordance with theinvention.

[0023]FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing an interlayer dielectric deposited over the structureto passivate the metal line and the thermally conducting dielectricmaterial for an embodiment of the invention of an integrated circuitstructure having an interlayer thermally conducting dielectric materialin accordance with the invention.

[0024]FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing an embodiment of the invention with a transistordevice adjacent to a trench filled with thermally conducting dielectricmaterial in accordance with the invention.

[0025]FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing an embodiment of the invention wherein thermallyconducting dielectric material overlies the structure and metal contactsare established to the diffusion regions in accordance with theinvention.

[0026]FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a portion of an integrated circuitstructure showing an embodiment of the invention wherein the interlayerdielectric layer is replaced with thermally conducting dielectricmaterial in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Embodiments in accordance with the present invention include asemiconductor device and a method for forming a semiconductor devicehaving a trench with a portion of the trench filled with a thermallyconducting material defining a cell or active region. Embodiments inaccordance with the invention also include a semiconductor device and amethod for forming a semiconductor device having a trench with a portionof the trench filled with a thermally conducting materiel defining acell or active region and a contact to the thermally conductingmaterial. Embodiments in accordance with the invention further include asemiconductor device and a method for forming a semiconductor devicewith an interlayer dielectric that is a thermally conducting material.Embodiments of the device and process for making the device allow forimproved heat dissipation across a chip.

[0028] In one embodiment, a thermal conducting trench filled with athermally conducting material is embedded in the chip active layer veryclose to the heating source, e.g., the transistor. The thermallyconducting trench may be constructed throughout the isolation region andmay provide sufficient extra thermal contact area in addition to thosecontributed from electrical source/drain contacts, so that sufficientheat may be dissipated without adding extra space. Therefore, thethermal conducting channel filled in the active layer providesadditional thermal contact area and significantly relieves the thermalheating problem with little penalty on chip size or process complexity.In another embodiment, thermally conducting material is used as areplacement for part or all of the interlayer dielectric to improve theheat dissipation in higher level structures.

[0029] In the following description, numerous specific details are setforth such as specific materials, thicknesses, processing steps, processparameters, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of theinvention. One skilled in the art will understand that these specificdetails need not be employed to practice the invention.

[0030] FIGS. 1-6 illustrate schematically an embodiment of a method offorming a semiconductor structure in accordance with the invention. FIG.1 illustrates the formation of trenches 150 in silicon substrate 100.The trenches filled with a thermally conducting material are formedusing conventional trench isolation techniques. In this trench isolationprocess, a masking layer 110, such as for example, a silicon nitride(Si_(x) N_(y)) masking layer 110, is deposited over silicon substrate100 to protect substrate 100 from a subsequent etchant and to define atrench or trench pattern. Next, the structure is exposed to a suitableetchant to form trench 150 in the silicon substrate. The etching oftrench 150 may be carried out by a chlorine etch chemistry, such as forexample, BCl₃/Cl₂, H₂/Cl₂/SiCl₄, and CHCl₃/O₂/N₂, or other suitable etchchemistry as known in the art.

[0031] Trench 150 may be used to define an active region, for exampleisolating n⁺ and p⁺ regions in CMOS circuits. The trench depth may vary,but typically is approximately uniform across the semiconductorsubstrate 100 and determined by the particular requirements of thestructure. In CMOS technology, such trenches 150 typically range from adepth of 0.4 μm to greater than 3 μm.

[0032] Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a dielectric interface layer 120 isformed over the masking layer 110 and adjacent to the sidewalls and baseof the trench 150. Interface layer 120 may be deposited by conventionaltechniques, e.g., chemical vapor deposition of dielectric material, ormay be grown, e.g., thermal SiO₂. Interface layer 120 seals off theexposed silicon in the trench and passivates the trench. Interface layer120 serves as an interface between silicon substrate 100 and thethermally conducting material that will ultimately be filled in thetrench. Interface layer 120 serves to prevent any trench leakage betweendevices isolated by the trench 150.

[0033] In some embodiments, interface layer 120 thickness may belimited. The thicker interface layer 120, the higher the thermalresistivity between silicon substrate 100 and material in the trench150. The thermal resistivity of trench 150 is increased by a thickerinterface layer 120, because the heat that is given off by an adjacentdevice, for example, is impeded from traveling to the thermallyconducting material by interface layer 120. An interface layer 120 ofSiO₂, for example, of 300 Å or less may be appropriate to impart thedesirable properties of an interface and suitable thermal resistivity.It is to be appreciated, however, that various dielectric materials ofvarious thicknesses may be used as an interface layer 120. Further, ifchannel leakage is not a concern, the interface layer 120 may beeliminated.

[0034] After interface layer 120 is formed in trench 150, FIG. 3illustrated a thermal conducting layer 130 deposited over the substrateand into trench 150. The layer 130 should also be electricallyinsulating. Thermally conductive material is material that transfersheat from one point to another. In this context, a thermally conductivematerial is a material that transfers or conducts heat and may bedistinguished, for example, by those materials that primarily insulate,like conventional semiconductor dielectrics such as SiO₂ or Si_(x)N_(y).High thermal conductivity is a thermal conductivity greater than 0.2W/cmK. Of course, the invention is not limited to utilizing materialsthat have high thermal conductivity. Thermally conductive materialssuitable for use in the invention include, but are not limited to, AlN,BN, SiC, polysilicon, and chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond. TableI compares the thermal conductivities of ordinary dielectrics of SiO₂and Si_(x)N_(y) with these thermally conducting materials and coppermetal. TABLE I Thermal Conductivity (W/cm K): SiO₂ Si₃N₄ SiC Poly Si A1NBN Diamond Cu 0.014 0.185 0.38 1.412 1.8-3.2 3.5-4.5 12-23 2.0-5.0

[0035] As shown in FIG. 4, a chemical-mechanical polishing step,suitable for thermally conducting material 130, is next used to polishaway thermally conducting material 130 from the substrate surfaceleaving thermally conducting material 130 only in trench region 150. Thechemical mechanical polish is accomplished using the dielectric layer(e.g., Si_(x)N_(y)) 110 as an etch stop. In other words, both thermallyconducting material 130 and interface layer 120 are removed from theupper surface of the substrate 100 but remain in trench 150. Though theremoval of thermally conducting material 130 from the surface of thesubstrate is described herein as a chemical-mechanical polishing step,it is to be appreciated that excess thermally conducting material 130may be removed by way of other techniques, such as for example,conventional etching techniques.

[0036] Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the dielectric/etch stop layer 110 isremoved from the substrate surface using standard dry etchingtechniques. For example, a Si_(x)N_(y) etch stop layer is removed using,for example, a CHF₃/O₂ etch chemistry. The same etch stop layer mayalternatively be removed by wet etching, such as for example, by hotphosphoric acid.

[0037] With the thermally conducting trench formed, conventionalfabrication processes may be used to formulate the integrated circuitstructures on the substrate. A schematic side view of a portion of anintegrated circuit structure is shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, a transistoris formed in the cell or active region defined by trench 150 ofsubstrate 100. The transistor consists of a gate 140 that is, forexample, doped polysilicon, overlying a gate oxide 170 and adjacent ton⁺ or p⁺ diffusion regions 160 in substrate 100 that is of the oppositedopant of diffusion regions 160. Adjacent gate 140 are sidewalldielectric spacers 180. Sidewall spacers 180 may comprise virtually anydielectric, including a single oxide or silicon nitride (Si_(x)N_(y)) orseveral layers formed by various methods. For example, one or morelayers of oxide may be deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapordeposition (“PECVD”), thermal CVD, atmospheric pressure CVD, andsubatmospheric pressure CVD. An interlayer dielectric (ILD) material 195is deposited and contact holes are formed to permit discrete metalcontacts diffusion regions 160 and trenches 150. Finally, FIG. 6 showscontact 196 to gate 140 and interlayer dielectric 195 and 200,respectively, isolating the electrical/thermal interconnect systems.

[0038] As noted above, a metal interconnect 190, that is, for example,aluminum, is deposited to the diffusion regions 160 to form anelectrical interconnection between the diffusion regions of thetransistor and the integrated circuit. A similar conductiveinterconnection is patterned to the thermally conducting material 130 intrench 150. In one embodiment, interconnect 190 is patterned todiffusion region 160 and thermally conducting material 130. In otherwords, electrical interconnect system 190 may be used as a thermalinterconnect system for heat transfer purposes as well as electricalinterconnect purposes. The thermally conducting material 130 in thisembodiment should be electrically insulating to prevent shortingproblems. It should, however, be appreciated, that the thermalinterconnect system and the electrical interconnect system need not bethe same. Instead, separate or discrete interconnect systems may beestablished for electrical and thermal purposes. Further, in anembodiment utilizing thermal conducting material 130 having thermalconductivities greater than 1.8 W/cmK, no contact to thermallyconducting material 130 is necessary.

[0039] To form interconnect system 190 that is to be used as both anelectrical interconnect system and a thermal interconnect system, amasking layer is deposited over dielectric layer 195 exposing areas thatwill become vias or openings to thermally conducting material 130 anddiffusion regions 160. Next, the via or openings to thermally conductingmaterial 130 and diffusion regions 160 are formed by conventionaletching techniques. For example, a tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) SiO₂dielectric layer 195 is anisotropically etched with a CHF₃/O₂ etchchemistry to form vias or openings to thermally conducting material 130and diffusion regions 160. Once the vias or openings are formed tothermally conducting material 130 and diffusion regions 160, the maskinglayer is removed and a metal, for example aluminum, is patternedconcurrently to both thermally conducting material 130 and diffusionregions 160.

[0040] The introduction of a trench filled with thermally conductingmaterial significantly improves the thermal dissipation of the chip withlittle, if any, negative impact on performance in process. Thus, heatgenerated, for example, by a transistor device may be transferred to thethermally conducting material and then transferred away from theindividual device, by transfer through the thermally conductive materialitself or, in the embodiment where there is a contact to the thermallyconductive material, through the contact, and, optionally, through aheat sink connected to the interconnect system.

[0041] It is generally accepted, for example, that dielectric materialswith high thermal conductivity, such as would be suitable for use in theinvention, generally will have a high dielectric constant which willtend to increase the inter-metal capacitance and slow down a device.Because the thermally conducting material is embedded in thesemiconductor substrate there is little or no negative effect on thecircuit speed. Further, once the trench with the thermally conductingmaterial is in place, the modifications to the conventionalsemiconductor processing steps are not significant, notably thepatterning of a metal contact to the trench. However, since theelectrical metal interconnect system can be used also as the thermalinterconnect system as shown in FIG. 6, the process steps of patterningthe metal to the trench are not significant. Further, since the optionalinterface dielectric layer along the sidewalls of the trench is as thinas 300 Å or less, thermal conduction between the active transistor andthe thermally conducting material 130 is achieved.

[0042]FIG. 7 is a schematic top view illustrating an embodiment of anintegrated circuit structure with thermally conducting material filledtrench isolation. In FIG. 7, thermally conducting material 130 forms afilled thermal conduction network across chip 250. FIG. 7 shows sixtransistors 230 including a gate 140 with diffusion regions 160. Each ofthe six transistors 230 is isolated from one another by a trench filledwith a thermally conducting material 130. Metal interconnects 190 arepatterned to the diffusion regions. Electrical interconnections 190 arecoupled to bus lines 210 and 220, respectively (for example, V_(CC) andV_(SS) bus lines). A further electrical contact 196 is patterned to gate140 of each active transistor 230.

[0043]FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of a portion of an integratedcircuit structure wherein the electrical interconnect system is alsoused for heat transfer purposes. In FIG. 8, bus lines 210 and 220,respectfully, are patterned to the thermally conducting material 130.Patterning to thermally conducting material 130 is illustrated bycontacts 215 on the bus lines. In this manner, the heat conducted fromthe transistor 230 to the thermally conducting material 130 can bedissipated through the metal interconnect system to, for example, anexternal heat sink (not shown). Since thermally conducting material 130is thermal conducting and electrically insulating, the same electricalinterconnect system can be used for heat transfer purposes. Thestructure shown in FIG. 9 includes contacts 215 to the bus lines as wellas contacts 217 to other metal interconnect of the circuit to furtherenhance the heat dissipation capacity of the circuit.

[0044] Compared with replacing all of the interlayer dielectric materialwith thermally conducting material, the approach of the previousembodiments of the invention does not raise interconnect loadingcapacitance significantly. Further, these embodiments do not requirededicated thermal interconnect systems or any additional chip density.These embodiments also provide more contact area between the metalinterconnect and the heating source, e.g., the active transistor.

[0045] FIGS. 10-14 are schematic side views of an embodiment of aprocess of forming further embodiments of the invention whereinthermally conducting material replaces the interlayer dielectricmaterial of the circuit. Because the thermally conducting material willreplace interlayer dielectric material, the thermally conductingmaterial should also be electrically insulating. The following describedembodiments may be used where a small increase in interconnect couplingcapacitance could be tolerated. It is to be noted that the processdescribed herein to create a structure with interlayer thermallyconducting material may or may not be used in conjunction with thethermally conducting substrate trenches described above.

[0046] The introduction of thermally conducting material betweeninterconnect lines may be incorporated into the process described abovewith respect to FIGS. 1-6 and wherein the electrical interconnect 190doubles as a thermal interconnect. FIG. 10 shows that, afterinterconnect line 190 patterning to diffusion regions 160 and thermallyconducting material 130, a dielectric layer, for example, a conformaloxide, is deposited and sidewall spacers formed by a conventionalanisotropic etching technique to form interface spacer portions 185between adjacent electrical interconnect structures 190. For example,SiO₂ spacer portions 185 of between 500-1,000 Å may be formed.

[0047]FIG. 11 shows that once interface spacer portions 185 are formed,a thermally conducting material 260 is deposited over the structure in asimilar manner as was done with respect to FIG. 3, supra. Further, inthe case where interlayer thermally conducting material 260 is used inconnection with a substrate with thermally conducting material-filledtrenches, thermally conducting material 260 can be the same as thermallyconducting material 130 filled in substrate trenches.

[0048] The deposition of thermally conducting material 260 is followedby a chemical-mechanical polish process to planarize the structure andpolish thermally conducting material 260 back, using metal interconnect190 for end point detection. An etching process may also be substitutedfor the chemical-mechanical polish process. In this manner, as shown inFIG. 12, thermally conducting material 260 remains in the regionadjacent distinct electrical interconnect lines 190 forming a thermallyconducting inter-metal trench 260 separated by dielectric sidewallspacer portions 185. A standard interlayer dielectric 270, for example aTEOS or PTEOS SiO₂, is then deposited over the structure as shown inFIG. 13. The same or similar process as described in FIGS. 10-13 may berepeated for higher level interconnects.

[0049] Where interconnect capacitance is of less concern, the interlayerdielectric may be completely replaced with thermally conductingdielectric material as shown in FIGS. 14-16 wherein thermally conductingmaterial 280 and 290 that is also electrically insulating is depositedadjacent electrical interconnect system 190. This structure may beachieved by substituting the deposition of dielectric material thatwould otherwise isolate the patterned metal lines with the thermallyconducting dielectric material described above with reference to otherembodiments of the invention. FIG. 14, shows a schematic side viewshowing a transistor formed in an active region of a substrate andtrenches filled with thermally conducting material 130 adjacent thetransistor device and a spacer layer 180 around the gate. As shown inFIG. 15, thermally conducting dielectric layer 290 overlies thestructure and metal interconnect lines 190 are patterned to diffusionregions 160. FIG. 15 also shows interconnect lines adjacent distinctelectrical interconnect lines 190 isolated from one another by sidewallspacers 185. Finally, in FIG. 16, a layer of thermally conductingmaterial 280 that is also electrically insulating overlies thestructure.

[0050] By introducing a trench filled with thermally conductingmaterial, the thermal dissipation of the chip may be significantlyimproved with little, if any, negative impact on performance andprocess. By extending the use of the thermally conducting material tointer-metal space, the embodiments in accordance with the inventionfurther improve both heat dissipation and temperature uniformity acrossthe chip.

[0051] Due to the use of thermally conductive material in accordancewith the invention, thermal equilibrium across the chip can be achievedmuch faster than conventional structures to provide a temperaturedistribution across the chip that is more uniform. This results in amore reliable electromigration of the interconnect system. The thermallyconducting material utilized in accordance with the invention also helpsto dissipate heat from the transistor to the surface of the structure.

[0052] In the preceding detailed description, the invention is describedwith reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made theretowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: in a circuit substratehaving a device structure in an active area, filling a portion of atrench with a thermally conducting material; patterning a thermallyconducting contact to the thermally conducting material, wherein thepatterned thermally conducting contact has a top surface and a pluralityof exposed side surfaces; and after patterning a thermally conductingcontact to the thermally conducting material, forming a spacer portionof dielectric material adjacent to at least one of the exposed sideportions.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising passivatingsidewalls of the trench with a dielectric material prior to the step offilling a portion of the trench with a thermally conducting material. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the thermally conducting material is anelectrically insulating material.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thethermally conducting material is selected from the group consisting ofAlN, BN, SiC, polysilicon, and CVD diamond.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising, after the step of filling a portion of the trenchwith the thermally conducting material, forming a transistor structurein an active area of the substrate, the transistor structure including agate on the substrate and diffusion regions in the substrate adjacentthe gate.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the thermally conductingmaterial is a first thermally conducting material, the method furthercomprising, after forming a spacer portion of dielectric materialadjacent to at least one of the exposed side portions, depositing asecond thermally conducting material over the structure.
 7. The methodof claim 6, wherein the first thermally conducting material and thesecond thermally conducting material are comprised of the same material.8. A method comprising: in a circuit substrate having a device structurein an active area, filling a portion of a trench with a first thermallyconducting material; patterning a thermally conducting contact to thefirst thermally conducting material, wherein the patterned thermallyconducting contact has a top surface; and after patterning a thermallyconducting contact to the first thermally conducting material,depositing a second thermally conducting material over the structure. 9.The method of claim 8, further comprising passivating sidewalls of thetrench with a dielectric material prior to the step of filling a portionof the trench with a first thermally conducting material.
 10. The methodof claim 8, wherein the first thermally conducting material and thesecond thermally conducting material are electrically insulatingmaterials.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first thermallyconducting material and the second thermally conducting material areselected from the group consisting of AlN, BN, SiC, polysilicon, and CVDdiamond.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the first thermallyconducting material and the second thermally conducting material arecomprised of the same material.
 13. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising, after the step of filling a portion of the trench with thefirst thermally conducting material, forming a transistor structure inan active area of the substrate, the transistor structure including agate on the substrate and diffusion regions in the substrate adjacentthe gate.
 14. A method comprising: in a circuit substrate having atransistor structure with a diffusion region in an active area, fillinga portion of a trench that is adjacent to the diffusion region with athermally conducting material; patterning a first thermally conductingcontact to the thermally conducting material; and patterning a secondthermally conducting contact to at least one of the gate and thediffusion region.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the thermallyconducting material has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.183 W/cmK.16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first thermally conductingcontact is electrically insulating.
 17. The method of claim 14, whereinthe second thermally conducting contact forms an electricalinterconnection with at least one of the gate and the diffusion region.18. The method of claim 17, further comprising a layer of a secondthermally conducting material overlying the cell region and adjacent asurface of the second thermally conducting contact.
 19. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the first thermally conducting contact is integratedwith the second thermally conducting contact.
 20. The method of claim19, wherein the integrated contact includes a first thermally conductingcontact branch to the thermally conducting material and a separatesecond thermally conducting contact branch to the diffusing region. 21.The method of claim 14, further comprising: a third contact having asurface, the third contact electrically coupled to the electricalinterconnection; and a third thermally conducting electricallyinsulating material adjacent the surface of the third contact.
 22. Adevice, comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a trenchsurrounding a cell region, wherein a portion of the trench containsthermally conducting electrically insulating material having a thermalconductivity greater than 0.185 W/cmK; a thermally conducting contact tothe thermally conducting electrically insulating material and overlyinga portion of the thermally conducting electrically insulating material;and a circuit device formed in the cell region.
 23. The device of claim22, further comprising a layer of dielectric material on the sidewallsof the trench.
 24. The device of claim 22, wherein the thermallyconducting electrically insulating material is selected from the groupconsisting of AIN, BN, SiC, polysilicon, and CVD diamond.
 25. The deviceof claim 22, wherein the thermally conducting contact to the thermallyconducting electrically insulating material is a first thermallyconducting contact, the device further comprising a transistor structurein the cell region, the transistor structure including a gate on thesubstrate and diffusion regions in the substrate adjacent the gate, anda second thermally conducting contact to at least one of the gate andthe diffusion regions to form an electrical interconnection.
 26. Thedevice of claim 25, wherein the first thermally conducting contact isintegrated with the second thermally conducting contact.
 27. The deviceof claim 25, wherein the thermally conducting electrically insulatingmaterial is a first thermally conducting electrically insulatingmaterial and the second thermally conducting contact has a surface, thedevice further comprising a layer of a second thermally conductingelectrically insulating material overlying the cell region adjacent tothe surface of the second thermally conducting contact.
 28. A device,comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a trench surrounding a cellregion, wherein a portion of the trench contains a first thermallyconducting material; a thermally conducting contact to the firstthermally conducting material, wherein the thermally conducting contacthas a top surface and a plurality of exposed side surfaces; a spacerportion of dielectric material adjacent to at least one of the exposedside portions; and a second thermally conducting material over thestructure.
 29. The device of claim 28, wherein the first thermallyconducting material has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.183 W/cmK.30. The device of claim 28, wherein the thermally conducting contact iselectrically insulating.
 31. The device of claim 28, wherein the firstthermally conducting material is selected from the group consisting ofAIN, BN, SiC, polysilicon, and CVD diamond.
 32. The device of claim 28,wherein the thermally conducting contact to the first thermallyconducting material is a first thermally conducting contact, the devicefurther comprising a transistor structure in the cell region, thetransistor structure including a gate on the substrate and diffusionregions in the substrate adjacent the gate, and a second thermallyconducting contact to at least one of the gate and the diffusion regionsto form an electrical interconnection.
 33. The device of claim 32,wherein the first thermally conducting contact is integrated with thesecond thermally conducting contact.
 34. The device of claim 32, whereinthe second thermally conducting contact has a surface, and the secondthermally conducting material overlies the cell region adjacent to thesurface of the second thermally conducting contact.